Port #17: Making a Home in Hammond!

Great Loop II Date: 8/26/2014

Day #26 {Tuesday): 60 miles (1016 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #17:  Hammond, IN

After an uncomfortable night, I woke up with the clock at 5:30AM.  NOAA’s reports were for afternoon and evening thunderstorms developing southwest of Chicago.  During the last 3 days we had heard severe thunderstorm warnings accompanied by severe weather marine warnings for Chicago and southern Lake Michigan.  Looking at the radar, all looked well with a line of developing storms well south of the Illinois/Indiana border and heading due east.  Lake Michigan was calm with 1 foot or less seas that would be on our stern.  That would make for a nice ride.

Before we left our dock at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL.

We cast off our lines at 7:30AM and Todd set course for Hammond, IN south of Chicago.  We had decided our tour of Chicago during the last Loop was good enough for us.  Another determining factor was Todd had received a call from the VA Outpatient Center in Columbus, Ohio for a long awaited appointment.  This appointment would determine his hearing loss related to his service in the Air Force from poor ear protection while working in the loud missile launch bays.  Hammond would be a good place to stay, rent a car, and travel to Columbus, Ohio for the appointment.

Our trip from Winthrop Harbor to just north of Chicago was unremarkable.  The following seas had been comfortable, although the day had become overcast and dismal.  We were busy killing biting flies that continued to try to make a meal of us.

By 11:30AM it was evident a big storm had developed and was heading east.  It looked like it would hit us.  Todd opted to put OB up on plane and try to outrun the storm.  His strategy and some help from God worked.  The storm blew up directly behind us.  The skies were menicing, there was plenty of lightening and thunder behind us and there was plenty of rain.  It did look like it would overtake as at some point but never did.  The winds were very strong but were also on our stern along with growing choppy waves.  At one point we felt we were surfing 3 foot with an occasional 4 foot wave.  However, with them on our stern, the ride was never uncomfortable.  Part of that comfort was due to the excellent driving abilities of Otto (our autopilot).  We did dawn our life vests and put Charlie in his.  He immediately went to his safe place and hid.

The Chicago skyline did appear and is just under those clouds on the right.  The black dots on the windshield are flies!

Charlie's safe place...our master stateroom in the front of the boat under the pilothouse where we are stationed.  He's in his life vest.

We passed the Chicago skyline around 1PM.  It had just begun to reappear from under the dense clouds.  So far we’ve not gotten a good skyline shot of Chicago in either Loop.  Chicago was incased in heavy haze when we approached in 2010.

Todd slowed OB to a crawl just after passing Chicago.  There was another big storm to our south that had developed southwest of Joliet and worked its way northeast into our path.  It took us another 1 ½ hours to get to Hammond but we didn’t get a drop of rain out of that storm.

There goes that storm to the south of us.

Hammond Marina is a large facility that sits right behind the Horseshoe Casino.  Our dock was a good long walk from the main office and not quite as far to the casino.  Since I hadn’t fixed anything for dinner, we decided to go to the casino.  We went to the buffet and enjoyed excellent food from many cultures: Asian, Latin, Italian as well as American cusiene were available.  Todd and I left totally satisfied.

The Hammond Marina.  OB is waaaaaaaaay back in the very back of the picture!  It was a 1 mile walk from OB to the marina office and back to OB.  Excellent exercise.

Since we filled up at the buffet our first night, we stuck with one of our favorite meals the second night...wine, cheese, beef stick and crackers.

Another beautiful sunset...after a rainy afternoon, of course.

We enjoyed meeting and reuniting with many Loopers during our stay.  Akasha with Rosemary and Clark came in soon after we did.  They flew back to their home in Ft. Worth the next morning for a short break and to keep some appointments.  Blue Moon and El Nido came in that same evening.  We had just met them in Leland, MI.  DeDe with Diane and Henry as well as Fruitcakes with Julie and Andy had come in with this group.  All of them had crossed from Michigan and outwitted the storms.

Thursday afternoon we finally caught up with this group of Loopers.  We decided to go to the casino, have some cocktails and try our hand at gambling.  I’ve never had much experience with casino games but decided it would be fun.  Besides, the mention of food will get me to go most anywhere!

First we ate at the Asian restaurant inside the casino.  Again we had a delicious meal.  After dinner, we went to the video poker bar in the middle of the casino floor.  We ordered after dinner cocktails and tried our luck with Blackjack and Poker.  I stuck with Blackjack and managed to lose $4.10.

We took our cocktails out into the casino and Todd and I chose to try the slots.  Within 20 minutes I won back my $4.10 and added another $10.70 in winnings to it.  With that, I was content to stop and head back to the boat.

This was a huge casino with multiple floors.  This was just a small section of the main floor.  The lights and sounds always amaze me.

Friday was a catch up day on the boat.  We had gotten a mail drop from our mail collection company.  More storms rolled in and it made it a good day for inside work (laundry, sorting mail, etc.).  King drop by (from Blue Moon) and more plans were hatched for another trip to the casino for cocktails and gambling.

Todd picked up a rental car from Enterprise Saturday.  We restocked our supplies for the upcoming river trip.  Saturday night we did go back to the casino with King and Sharon.  I lost that night but still came out with $15.70 of the $20 I played.  I doubt I will ever become a high stakes gambler.

Sunday we prepared the boat to stay in place for the few days we would travel to Columbus, Ohio.  We both remarked how different it was to be in a car fighting traffic compared to being on the water fighting waves and wakes.  We decided we preferred the latter.

Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful visit from one of our Aquaholic couples who winter in Cape Coral as we do.  Linda and Bob have a home in St. Charles, IL just west of Chicago.  Bob knows the area well from his business.  After a brief introduction to Ocean Breeze, we went to a good Mexican restaurant south of the marina in Whiting, IL.  We talked and laughed and had a most enjoyable afternoon and evening.

Monday Todd and I packed, closed up the boat and went to Columbus.  Tuesday, Todd had an appointment at the VA Outpatient Center.  He was tested in the audiology department in follow up from his claim regarding exposure during his service in the Air Force.  That evening, we went to the birthday party of a dear friend and had a marvelous time with our boating buddies that all live in Columbus.

You just never know what you are going to run into on the roads!  This did look like a flying saucer.  I was completely round and could only go about 55mph.  I'd love to see it at night with all the lights going around the outside of it!

Coming into Ohio....

...with a fairly quick turn around going back to OB.

Wednesday morning we were back on the road early to get back to Ocean Breeze and return the rental car.  In the process, Charlie tripped me on the way from the car to the dock in his excitement to get to some grass for his duties.  I fell flat on my back and experienced another round of excruciating pain in my right shoulder.  I spent the rest of the day icing the shoulder and popping ibuprofen and Tylenol Extra Strength.  By evening the pain was well reduced which was a big relief.

Thursday presented itself with a day of wind and storms so we delayed at Hammond one more day.  By then we were getting anxious to be underway.  We spent the day checking blogs and Army Corps sites online concerning the locks and the Asian Carp Fish Barrier.  Many Loopers had already made it past this bottleneck in the Ca—Sag Shipping Channel however most have chosen to transit the area on Sundays while the barrier is open and work is halted for the weekend.  By Thursday evening, we had decided Friday was our day to drop the lines and leave Hammond for the rivers.